Services that can help you send large files are everywhere, it seems, but for some reason I find that I always blank out on which one is most appropriate to use when I actually need one. This post aims to provide an at-a-glance reference for ten of FREE file hosting services, most of which you’d heard about but some which you hopefully have not.

Specifically, we look at ad-hoc ‘file locker’ type services designed solely for the quick sharing of large files, and will exclude cloud storage services such as Dropbox and others like it, and exclude P2P services that send files from one computer straight to another. The services compared here are: Mega, File Dropper, Bayfiles, Pastelink, Gett, Putlocker, FileCarton, Anonfiles, Sendspace, Drop.mx, Zippyshare, Mediafire, Kicksend, WeTransfer, Jumpshare, and Minus. This article last updated: March 5th, 2012.

Note on the latest update of this article:

Free plans only: the information below refers to the FREE Plans that are on offer. Paid plan details will differ.

Validity of information: is current as of the last update (see date above). The services may change or tweak their offerings. Please report any changes you encounter

Services listed: we’ve removed some of the services you may have seen in a previous incarnation of this article, and added others that we thought were more worthy.

Completely re-written, with a different approach: we’ve opted for a simpler approach in this update, listing the information about these services as is without too much editorializing.

We did not consider the amount of online storage on offer for in the comparison, as Cloud services like Dropbox are more appropriate for that. Also we did not consider peer-to-peer file sharing services.

1. Anonymous uploads

The table below shows which services require registration, which services provide optional registration and which services do away with registration altogether. Note that (a) by registration we mean FREE registration, and (b) the file upload sizes and other criteria may differ if you use the service anonymously vs. via registration (see tables below).

Anonymous Upload Only

Anonymous OR Registered both

Requires Registration

File Dropper

Bayfiles

Mega

FileCarton

Pastelink

Mediafire

Anonfiles

Gett

Kicksend

WeTransfer

Putlocker

SendSpace

Drop.mx

Zippyshare

Jumpshare

Minus

2. Max file size allowed

We ranked the services by size upload limits with or without registration. Anon = anonymous use; Reg = using a free account.

Unli-mited

5-GIGS

2-GIGS

1-GIG

500-MEG

300-MEG

250-MEG

200-MEG

150-MEG

100-MEG

15-MEG

1. Mega

Reg (*)

2. File Dropper

Anon

3. Bayfiles

Anon / Reg

4. Pastelink

Reg

Anon

5. Gett

Reg (**)

Anon

6. Putlocker

Anon / Reg

7. FileCarton

Anon

8. Anonfiles

Anon

9. SendSpace

Anon / Reg

10. Drop.mx

Anon / Reg

11. Zippyshare

Anon / Reg (***)

12. Mediafire

Reg

13. Kicksend

Reg

14. WeTransfer

Anon

15. Jumpshare

Anon / Reg

16. Minus

Anon / Reg

(*) Mega did not have file size restrictions, but your browser might.
(**) Gett is limited by available online storage space, which is a mere 2 Gigs in the free version
(***) If your filesize exceeds the max filesize for Zippyshare, it purports to automatically split it into suitably sized chunks.

3. File Availability: how long can I (or others) access my files

The period may differ for files uploaded with or without registration. Anon = anonymous use; Reg = using a free account.

We could not find theinfo

1 Week

2 Weeks

1 Month

2 Months

Forever if active at least once

Forever

1. Mega

Reg

2. File Dropper

Anon (once per month)

3. Bayfiles

Anon / Reg (once per month)

4. Pastelink

Anon / Reg

5. Gett

Anon

Reg (once per month)

6. Putlocker

Anon / Reg (once every 2 WEEKs)

7. FileCarton

Anon

8. Anonfiles

Anon

9. SendSpace

Anon / Reg (once per month)

10. Drop.mx

Anon / Reg

11. Zippyshare

Anon / Reg (once per month)

12. Mediafire

Reg (*)

13. Kicksend

Reg

14. WeTransfer

Anon

15. Jumpshare

Anon

Reg

16. Minus

Anon / Reg

(*) As long as you maintain an active Mediafire account. Which means to log in every once in a while (sorry they don’t specify the period). They will send several emails before de-activating an account, though.

4. Waiting period before onset of download

Strangely, none of the services mentioned has a waiting period after first use (and only one service makes you wait at all).

Period before download link appears: no wait time, except for Bayfiles (60 second wait).

Waiting period between one download and the next: no wait time for any. Zero.

5. Ads

Want downloads without ads (or with minimal ads?). You’re in luck, as many of these services offer ad-free downloads.

Desktop apps will typically allow you to pause and resume uploads, while mobile apps allow you to access your files on the go. API access means that a developer can build their own app to access the service.

Desktop

Mobile

Browser Extensions

API

1. Mega

No desktop app; but offers browser support for resuming downloads and uploads.

–

–

API access

2. File Dropper

–

–

–

–

3. Bayfiles

–

–

–

API access

4. Pastelink

Windows; Mac

iOS

–

–

5. Gett

–

–

Chrome ; Gmail extensions

–

6. Putlocker

–

Android

–

–

7. FileCarton

–

–

–

–

8. Anonfiles

–

–

–

–

9. SendSpace

Windows; Mac; Linux

Anrdoid; iOS

–

API access

10. Drop.mx

–

–

–

–

11. Zippyshare

–

–

–

–

12. Mediafire

Windows; Mac; Linux

Anrdoid; iOS

–

API access

13. Kicksend

–

Anrdoid; iOS

Extensions for all browsers

–

14. WeTransfer

–

–

–

–

15. Jumpshare

–

–

–

–

16. Minus

Windows; Mac

Anrdoid; iOS

Chrome; Firefox extensions; and a Bookmarklet for all browsers

API access

7. Ability to view files on the page without downloading

Especially useful for online image galleries, but also for other document and media files.

Images

Video

Audio

PDF

Office Files

Other filetypes

1. Mega

–

–

–

–

–

–

2. File Dropper

–

–

–

–

–

–

3. Bayfiles

–

–

–

–

–

–

4. Pastelink

–

–

–

–

–

–

5. Gett

Yes

–

Yes

Yes

–

–

6. Putlocker

Yes

Yes

Yes

–

–

–

7. FileCarton

–

–

–

–

–

–

8. Anonfiles

–

–

–

–

–

–

9. SendSpace

–

–

–

–

–

–

10. Drop.mx

Yes

–

Yes

–

–

–

11. Zippyshare

Yes

Player didn't work when we tested it.

Player didn't work when we tested it.

–

–

–

12. Mediafire

Yes

–

–

Yes

Word; PowerPoint; Exel

–

13. Kicksend

Yes

–

–

–

–

–

14. WeTransfer

–

–

–

–

–

–

15. Jumpshare

Yes

–

Yes

Yes

Word; PowerPoint; Exel

ebooks; as well as many others

16. Minus

Yes

–

Yes

Yes

Promised 'soon'

8. Sends per month

All of the services allow for unlimited sends per month. We eliminated services that restrict sends per month from the list as of the latest update of this article.

Tried bayfiles.com, but that wasn’t working. It’s now bayfiles.net. I think they don’t display ads anymore. The terms of service imply the files are still available “forever” as long as a download is completed every 30 days.

pjj

For actual *sending* files I use sendspace.com. Even though file size is limited (300 MB), you can fill in recipient’s e-mail and they are automatically sent a download link, so it’s “upload and forget” kind of service. You can also fill in your e-mail and you get a delete link. No registration is necessary. Quick and easy.

Max. filesize 200 MB. Free without registration. At the moment 74 reliable servers. Fast up/downloads. Unlimited traffic (no limitations). No waiting time. Unlimited retention as long as a file is downloaded once a month, but i’ve noticed they often stay online even longer (±2 to 3 months).
Mediafiles can be previewed/prelistened (with a waveform) before downloading. They can also be embeded on your own website.
They offer an upload tool for the desktop pc to easily upload multiple files and share them.

Since a lot of music is uploaded on Zippyshare, but they don’t offer a searchengine, the easiest way to search for files on Zippyshare is to use Google. Simply type (a part of) the artist/songname followed by site:zippyshare.com.

I guess just to add to the list. http://FileCarton.com is really simple to use, its free & straight forward. No need to register which I like the most.

Samer Kurdi

Added Filecarton to the list.

BioBob

Thanks to all, such a nice resource to know about in detail !!

http://Drop.MX Zach

Our service just launched and I know users will love sending files privately and accessing them on any device including mobile devices. We let you send and stream large drops so have quicker access times to your files.

We also just published a blog post in response to the latest Instagram press release which detailed how they are going to use your personal images for their own profit.

I don’t know if I’m missing something or if File Dropper has changed their policy. But it don’t see a free plan anywhere except the free for 7 days and then $5 month thereafter. I just tried to upload a 50 mb zip file, which uploaded OK, but would not present a link to share. So I refreshed the browser, started over and uploaded the file again with the same result. The upload completes (reads 100%), but the box to “share link” does not become active and nothing happens when I click on it. I’ve emailed tech support but they said it would take 1 or 2 days to respond.

BTW Samer and BC – this is an outstanding site. I’m sorry to hear about all the problems with Google, and also about the ding-dongs that have launched a DOS attack. Keep up the good work. This is a very worthwhile site with excellent information and softare reviews. I use the programs recommended on this site all the time. I’ll be donating to the cause soon.

Samer Kurdi

@ Mark: sorry for the delay in replying. I am in the process of updating this post, and I had hoped I would post the update yesterday and respond to your comment at the same time.

In any case, FileDropper does not offer a free plan, but will let you share anonymously without an account. I just tried to upload a file and was able to do so and get a share link without any problems. You will have to copy and paste the link to share it, although the issue you are facing may be unrelated, I am not really sure.

Thanks for your kind words about the site

Fayazdo

Thanks for the article.

I’ve been using wikisend.com for years.
Max. size of 100 MBytes and you may set the uploaded files’ lifetime yourself for 1 up to 90 days.
Never encountered any problems.

@6. Zippyshare offers a tool for bulk uploading from the desktop (portable, no installation). Just drag/drop all files in the tool and upload. When finished, a .txt log-file with all the downloadlinks is created to use in an e-mail or on a forum.
@7. Zippyshare Audio/Video preview works fine for me.
@9. You can embed the links in ‘rich text’ html e-mails, on your website or in a status-update on Facebook.

If there ever comes another update i would also recommend to include upload/download speed.
Most services have some serious limitations on speed and it sometimes may take like an hour or so to download a file, where others take only a couple of minutes.

Thx to keep us updated on this matter Samer!

Samer Kurdi

VERY good points. Thanks ecomm!

http://www.paleografie.tk Cerberus

Wow, Samer, you are the best! This will same many people so much time. One suggestion: you might considered adding a short conclusion where you recommend one or two that are your favourite(s) based on the criteria you have used in your comparison.

Peter

Are you sure the max file size is 100M for WeTransfer?
WeTransfer allows to send up to 2GB.

Samer Kurdi

Peter: you can send multiple files up to 2GB in total, but each file is a max of 100 megs.

Anonymous

Really sure? I remember a friend of mine had to send an 8GB video and he cut it into 4 pieces of 2GB and send it to me successfully.

Samer Kurdi

It seems you’re right. I just tried a 700 meg file and it proceeded to upload. Will edit above.

Mario

Heard today about OziBox – 100Gb on a community cloud storage.

http://fcorpsoft.tk Fahmy Corporation (FREE Software)

I usually use “TusFiles” or “ShareBeast” to Share My Files

brian

Samer,

Thanks so much for going to all the work to post this great summary.
It sure will save some of us a lot of time when we next need such a service.
I would also agree with Cerberus that your short evaluation would be especially helpful.

Been using and referring WeTransfer for a couple years now with no issues. Send 2 G’s at a time as often as you want to anyone and it’s available for 2 weeks. Don’t see why you would need it up longer.

bigpisces

I started using Shared.com… they offer 1GB file size for uploading and sharing. Also, pretty easy to use and get around.

Crawlerbasher

some great info here, which helped me find a site perfect for my needs.
Thank you.

MountainKing7

Great stuff man. I can imagine all the time taken up to research, compare and do the actual write-up. Extremely well done, laid out and simple to understand.

If cheap file sharing is considered then http://www.cloudat1.com is the best. It provide 100GB of space for $1 only. They also provides 1TB, 10 TB and 100TB online disk space at reasonable price. Its really good and affordable for small to large users.

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